Sleettown (Perryville, KY)

Sleettown was an African American community developed after the Civil War on 96-acres near Perryville, KY. During the war, the land had been used as a staging ground for the Confederate Army during the Battle of Perryville, the largest Civil War battle in Kentucky.

The history of Sleettown was collected and written by Perryville Mayor Anne Sleet and Mary Q. Kerbaugh. The Sleet Family's earliest known ancestors were Warner and Octavia Sleet. Their sons Henry, Preston, and George led in the development of Sleettown. Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Moneta Sleet was a member of the Sleettown family. 

The community had a general store, eating places, and a cemetery. As younger residents began leaving for employment in the city, the population steadily decreased until the last person left Sleettown in 1931; only one old house remains standing.

In 2007, the Kentucky Parks Department purchased the land where Sleettown had existed. The site will be used to tell the history of both the Battle of Perryville and Sleettown.

For more see "Sleettown, Kentucky," Kentucky Atlas and Gazetteer; "The Sleets and Sleettown";  "Sleettown," at sites.rootsweb.com; A. Jester, "Sleettown tells a part of the tale," Lexington Herald-Leader, 9/30/2001, KyLife section, p. J3; G. Kocher, "Perryville's next mayor - Anne Sleet adds new chapter to family's proud history in Boyle County," Lexington Herald-Leader, 11/27/2006, Main News section, p. A1; "Sleettown to become part of historic site," Lexington Herald-Leader, 6/5/2007, p. B3; and "Our uncommonwealth - Man reunites with Kentucky roots thanks to documentary filmmaker," Lexington Herald-Leader, 12/13/2016, Features section, p. C1.

*See also the Sleettown genealogy and history in the online publication (.pdf) Kentucky Ancestors: genealogical quarterly of the Kentucky Historical Society, vol. 43, no. 1, Autum 2007.